Reliable West Ham United insider ExWHUemployee has moved to explain assistant coach Kevin Nolan’s low profile.
Nolan joined West Ham as assistant coach alongside Paul Nevin back in February.
The former Hammers captain appeared to have a positive impact as David Moyes’s side steadily improved before football was shutdown in March.
But Nolan has been notable by his absence since West Ham have returned to training.
The lesser spotted Nolan
The Premier League restart is one week away and West Ham are back in action against Wolves on Saturday June 20th.
Footage and images posted on West Ham’s website and social media channels has showed clips from training.
Moyes, Alan Irvine and – less so – Paul Nevin have all been seen and heard in the images.
But there has been little sign or mention of Nolan.
That led to speculation among some West Ham fans that there may have been some kind of falling out between Moyes and his new assistant.
Some supporters even suggested Moyes had been forced to choose between his assistants with the Premier League set to vote on the number of staff a club can have at games (Sky Sports).
Insider clarifies Super Kev’s low profile since West Ham return
When West Ham fans want answers they tend to go to insider ExWHUemployee.
And the anonymous Twitter and podcast personality has shed some light on the situation.
He told West Ham fans on Twitter that Nolan has simply been working with some of the club’s young and fringe players and has not been in any footage or pictures as a result.
“Despite not featuring on the first team training photos Kevin Nolan is still there and is working with some of the fringe/young players,” ExWHUemployee said.
When pressed about whether that meant he was somehow out of favour with Moyes, ExWHUemployee added: “No just hasn’t been photographed.”
So there you have it West Ham fans, Nolan is still very much part of the setup under Moyes.
Speaking to beIN Sports during lockdown, Moyes revealed the idea behind bringing Nolan back to West Ham.
Moyes revealed his plans for Nolan in lockdown interview
“Yes I felt that (I needed a young man not long out of the game to act as a buffer between me and the players),” Moyes told beIN Sports.
“I also felt that because of Kevin’s knowledge of West Ham and the situation we were in (it) would help. I think there is something now where having a younger member of staff is really important.
“We’ve always wanted to have young members of staff because hopefully they can join in a bit of training if needed or help out in different ways but I hope also they have a bit of a closer relationship at times with the players and be a good buffer between me and the actual squad itself.
“I think with the situation we were in… at the moment the players need to hear the manager’s voice.
“They need to have the manager’s eyes and ears and they need to know exactly what he wants.
“But as often as I can I like to delegate, I’ve got a really good coach in Alan Irvine, I’ve got Kevin Nolan and Paul Nevin at the moment who are helping me and when we can we’ll try and make sure they get opportunities to do some coaching.
“But ultimately us getting results is the big thing. And that’s where I feel I have to take responsibility for that.”
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